Surviving the panic of fashion week's mass clothing swap

We came, we saw, and we conquered - for the most part - the locally designed clothes swap at New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland on Friday afternoon.

The event, run by sustainability-focused brand Kowtow, drew about 200 people who somehow managed to exchange upward of 500 items of clothing without resorting to Boxing Day sale-style fist fights.

In the weeks leading up to fashion week, Kowtow accepted only New Zealand-designed clothing at its store in exchange for tokens that participants could use at the clothing swap. The idea was to take in underused items in your wardrobe and exchange them with someone else’s preloved garments, keeping clothes in circulation and out of landfill.

It’s a concept that complements the new look of fashion week, which is no longer an event just for industry insiders. This year's schedule is packed with mostly events open to the public, where designers are showcasing current collections to a community of established fans.

Of course, at the clothing swap, there were some sweaty hands at the back of the line as those at the front were let loose on racks of clothing first, potentially nabbing the best items.

Some feared they wouldn’t find anything in their size or something they liked, but for the most part, those interviewed by RNZ said they were thrilled just to take part and back the cause, whatever they walked away with.

"It was really fast. People were moving really fast," says Natalia Pickrang-Tamaariki, who was on her way out with five solid items of clothing, including a Harris Tapper knit that likely retailed for over $500.

Was it stressful?

"Yes. Especially when you reach for the same thing at the same time as somebody else."

Esme Chiverton traded in a dress and top from Twenty-Seven Names and a Kowtow dress that no longer fit her.

“I was feeling really apprehensive about handing over garments, not knowing whether I would get anything in return, especially much-loved pieces,” she says, while waiting in line to go in.

“Having parted with them, I haven't even thought twice about it, so I think it is a really good lesson in learning to let things go and embracing the circularity and keeping things loved.”

We caught up with her after the clothing swap, and she was buzzing with what she had found, including a delicate silk Wixii waistcoat.

“You feel a bit bolder when you have nothing to lose. You're like ‘I'm going to use a token.’”

I found two underused New Zealand designer items in my wardrobe, including a dusky pink Kate Sylvester jacket that had hung on a coat rack in the RNZ newsroom for years unclaimed.

When I hit the racks on Friday with tokens in hand, there was an atmosphere of reserved panic. A long and slow-moving line formed in front of the only two change rooms available, so I pivoted to my backup plan of trying on clothes in the open (pro tip: wear a skirt and a singlet so you can try on almost anything without fully undressing).

Inspired by the sea of wide-legged pants I saw at the Harris Tapper show on Tuesday night, I went with some very wide-legged navy pinstripe pants from Harman Grubisa, a defunct label worn by the likes of Jacinda Ardern and Lorde.

In an act of impulse "buying," I picked out a fitted pastel dress with ruching on the waist. It didn’t have a label, so I’m not 100 percent sure it was a New Zealand brand. Who knows what I will do with the dress, but I’m excited about the pants.

I heard about a few people who abandoned their tokens, but mostly people seemed to walk out smiling with an armful of clothes.

Steph Moore, the marketing specialist from Kowtow, said a line formed more than an hour before the clothing swap opened, “something we were not anticipating.”

The New Zealand Fashion Week clothing swap was designed to highlight local designers, get people involved in fashion week, and promote sustainability, she says.